To this this IS extra money

[WhatsAppening]

DH has really confused me. Easily done tbf and it is early and I’m tired.

I get paid 4 weekly. We treat my wage as though it’s a monthly wage though, and all budgets are done accordingly.

This month I got paid on the 1st. So this morning I made an offhand comment about looking forward to us having an extra £1700 this month what with the extra payment.

DH first looked really puzzled and then went into great detail about why that’s not how it works. His logic was that the mortgage (same amount as my wage, coincidentally) comes out on the 1st then the first payment this month pays this month’s and then the payment on the 29th pays November’s so I’m ahead but it’s not spare money.

I KNOW he’s wrong, if we have 12 bills a year and 13 wages then it MUST be extra. But he’s confused me with his (wrong) logic.

I think because he’s focusing on one specific bill? And forgetting that we have lots of monthly bills and his monthly wage as well?

I need a simple explanation so I can convince him that we do indeed have a ‘free’ £1700 this month. It’s for his own good as it will make him happy, he’s all stressed this morning for other reasons.

@ZoBo123

When you pay your mortgage in October in the account will be his pay from the last day of September plus your additional pay this month. If you spend the same each month then there should be additional 1700 in the account on 1st October once the mortgage has been paid. No money needs to be saved for the next bill ls as you will both be getting paid again at the end of October to cover November.

Just read that back should be mortgage in November not October as that has already happened!

I always budgeted monthly when i was paid 4 weekly. I loved double wage month! You're definitely right!

If X is our usual monthly income and Y is the monthly bills then it’s simply

X-Y is a normal month

(X+1700)-Y is this month.

I’m not a mathematician but this makes sense to me.

You should know if it’s extra money or not when you’re setting your budget.

If your DH doesn’t know then you need to review your budgets again. It shouldn’t be a “surprise”, you should just know as you would have gone over this when budgeting 🤷🏻‍♀️

You are right, if you have 12 x mortgage payments a year but 13 paydays, one of them is essentially 'extra'.

Ah, if you don’t use your pay for your mortgage or other bills then I think he’s right.

If you use your pay for supermarket shopping etc then it’s not extra.

If it’s for other bills which are paid by calendar months then it is extra.

@Iggly

You should know if it’s extra money or not when you’re setting your budget.

If your DH doesn’t know then you need to review your budgets again. It shouldn’t be a “surprise”, you should just know as you would have gone over this when budgeting 🤷🏻‍♀️

I did. I’ve been looking forward to the extra wage. DH doesn’t get involved in the budgets much, and said I had it wrong when I mentioned it this morning.

I get it OP, and agree with you. Some months your contribution to mortgage/bills etc will be available just in time, some months it will have been sitting in your bank account for a few days, or even 3 weeks and 6 days.

I agree that today’s salary payment is “bonus”.

You are right of course.

Ah, if you don’t use your pay for your mortgage or other bills then I think he’s right.

If you use your pay for supermarket shopping etc then it’s not extra.

If it’s for other bills which are paid by calendar months then it is extra.
But OP budgets, as do lots of people: supermarket shops might vary a little, but they’re roughly the same and budgeted x12, just as monthly bills are. And she’s paid x13. So yes, it’s extra.

Just agree with him, put the money aside for a family treat or emergency money.

I get paid 4 weekly too and yes there will be one pay from which you dont pay the mortgage but it depends completely on what date it comes out and when your pay goes in. Same with all other bills too. You need to look through a calender and find the month when the mortgage was paid by the previous pay and then also doesnt come out until the next pay goes in

I completely get your logic OP, you're right.
If he thinks your 01 Nov pay pays the Nov mortgage, the where does his 31 Oct salary go?
As I understand it, his pay day on the last day of the month usually pays 01 month mortgage - whatever way you guys budget you've more money in November & this will happen every year (though obviously not always in November).

Well if he wants it framed in the terms above, your payment on the 29th oct pays the November mortgage, you'll get paid on the 26th November which will pay the December mortgage, and then you'll get your 'free money' on the 24th december.

But yes, a better strategic move would be to say "oh yes you're right dear silly me" and blow it all on gin and handbags.

I can’t see how he can’t work it out, so im wondering whether he just doesnt want you spending it…

@LorenzoVonMatterhorn

I can’t see how he can’t work it out, so im wondering whether he just doesnt want you spending it…

Ha! You’re probably onto something there.

@DecayedStrumpet

Well if he wants it framed in the terms above, your payment on the 29th oct pays the November mortgage, you'll get paid on the 26th November which will pay the December mortgage, and then you'll get your 'free money' on the 24th december.

But yes, a better strategic move would be to say "oh yes you're right dear silly me" and blow it all on gin and handbags.

I mean, that’s basically my plan. You can never have too much gin or too many handbags.

It is in theory extra money. But if you use it for regular spending money then chances are it isn't working out that way in reality.

Let's say your wage did pay the mortgage, and imagine this was done from an otherwise unused bank account. Say your month 1 payment date was the 1st for pay and mortgage. So they match up. Month 2 pay is the 29th, sits until 1st, taken for mortgage. Month 3 it's around the 27th, and so on. Eventually the dates will slide and get more misaligned so your wage is sitting for longer until it gets taken for the mortgage. You'll then hit a month where you get paid on, say, the 3rd, but the mortgage was paid from the money already in the account and you're going to get paid again before the next mortgage falls due.

If you are using it for spending money though it won't really have worked out as spare unless you have been stretching it every month so you make 4 weeks pay last a calendar month. If you do, then you should have a spare salary sitting in the account. If you don't then it's not spare. Chances are if it's spending money you've just used up the excess

If you want to have an actual spare lump sum once a year then get your pay put in to an unused account and transfer it over to the main account on a specific date every month. Then you will actually build up and be able to see and track your free month

@DeireadhFomhair

I completely get your logic OP, you're right. If he thinks your 01 Nov pay pays the Nov mortgage, the where does his 31 Oct salary go? As I understand it, his pay day on the last day of the month usually pays 01 month mortgage - whatever way you guys budget you've more money in November & this will happen every year (though obviously not always in November).

Thank you, this is the bit of clear logic I’ll tell him.

I'm with @DecayedStrumpet actually. If he doesnt think there's extra money then put it in your emergency/getting away fund, taking some off the top for fun!

I can see both sides. You're right that you get an "extra" pay packet once a year, but I wouldn't necessarily regard this month's second payment as the extra one.

So the way I track my spending is that we have £400 each pcm (cash to make it clearer). Then we spend pretty much the same every week on the big shop/petrol, this never really changes.

So the spending money is monthly, not paycheque to paycheque for me.

There’s always money left in the bank, it’s never at zero.

@AlexaShutUp

I can see both sides. You're right that you get an "extra" pay packet once a year, but I wouldn't necessarily regard this month's second payment as the extra one.

It’s this month I get paid twice in the month though.

It's not extra.

Those getting 12 months pay still get 13 payments, theres is just divided into 12 payments. This I how I get paid. So I get roughly 4.33 weeks of pay on a set date each month.

You get 4 weeks pay every 4 weeks, which then means 13 payments.

If you got 4.33 weeks you'd also get 12 payments.

There is no free month perse.

I’ve not read the whole thread so sorry if this has already been said. You need to think of the extra £1700 across the year rather than a an extra amount in one month . If you spend an extra £1700 this month you’d prob run out.